Does anyone know of a transparent material that I can print on to that is water proof and will not bleed into water?
I was thinking acetate printed on with standard ink. Would that bleed off at all?
Basically what I am looking to do is fill a jar with water, and put a transparent material with an image printed on it inside. I was also thinking maybe just laminated paper, which will seal off the water. Any ideas?
>>946067
if its waterproof material then obviously a standard orinter isnt going to cut it as the ink wont be able to penetrate the material to stick. best bet it to laminate it after printing. as long as its laminated properly and sealed it will remain 100% waterproof
>>946067
shit I forgot oto mention you can print images on transparency film.. they make this for inkjets and THEN laminate that. that way you have a transparent everything.
>>946074
Will look into it! Think I will go with transparency film + lamination. Thanks!
>>946067
Laser printer and transparency sheet.
Laser toner is plastic powder and completely insoluble in water. The printer melts it to the sheet. It's never coming off. Gonna have to find somebody with a color laser printer, though, because even the low-end ones are pretty damn pricy.
>>946076
I doubt you can use a laser printer with transparency film.. the heat from the printer transferring the toner would probably warp or melt the transparency film its very thin. and you ruin an expensive printer
best bet is inkjet printer.
![20160213_130020[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/1lEpeK2.jpg "20160213_130020[1].jpg")
>>946077
>I doubt you can use a laser printer with transparency film
I do it regularly to make PCB masks. No idea how much it matters, but I would suggest you get transparencies made specifically for laser printers (which is what mine are).
>>946078
ahh.. wasnt aware that the technology of transparency film has been made available for laser. just seemed like the printer would melt the plastic or deform it. but as OP wants a transparent image that wont bleed in water.. im sure even with transparency the toner would eventually break down with the water... so either way he goes its best to laminate it after printing that way you have 100% waterproof
>>946076
I unfortunately don't have access to a laser printer, only inkjet
>>946078
>im sure even with transparency the toner would eventually break down with the water
It doesn't. It's not "like plastic", it's LITERALLY plastic powder (usually some kind of polyester or styrene) that gets melted onto a substrate. It's not like an inkjet, where your dye is sitting in a solvent that evaporates after deposition. Short of a relatively powerful organic solvent like acetone, it's not coming off.
But it doesn't matter since >>946081 states that OP can't get access to a color laser printer. In that case, really his only option is an inkjet+lamination.
Just a thought, but maybe a transparent sheet, with a thin, even layer of epoxy or whatever on top?
So just to clarify the transparent films for lasers have been available for like a gazillion years. If you go that route remember to choose transparencies for laser because the plastic might melt inside the machine! I have used laser transparencies for years and never had any problems except for color fading. But I hang pictures in windows so fading is expected....
